Movie Music Magic
First... many thanks to siochembio for encouraging me to write this post. You're awesome!
In the interest of full disclosure.... My love of movie music started at a relatively early age when my father played his collection of movie and TV soundtrack albums every Saturday morning. His collection was rather wide-ranging, from Jerry Goldsmith's earliest orchestral scores, to soundtracks composed by Henry Mancini, Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Percy Faith and many others.
As I grew older, and really started paying attention to the music which was being played during the film, I realized that it's the opening title theme of a particular film which not only sets the mood, theme and tone of the film, but it's also designed to get your attention in roughly two minutes or so. Many of today's most prolific composers were influenced -- in one way or another -- by the grat Classical musicians, such as Stravinsky. Holst, Beethoven, Pachelbel, Debussey and many others
Here are some examples, thanks to the amazing people who fill YouTube with these incredible fanvids and marvelous music.
First, we have Jerry Goldsmith's haunting opening theme to the 1978 film, Magic, which chronicles the psychological collapse of a stage magician, and the malign influence of his ventriloquist's dummy, Fats. The theme is haunting. melancholy, but it also has a slight bit of tension, particularly when we hear the lushly orchestrated strings and piano, accompanied by a harmonica. There's a very faint hint of jazziness in the string section bridge near the middle of the song, which enhances the sound of the piece. But, the dominant theme is a wistful romanticism tinged with fear, as we hear in the stringed undertones of the song, and it's also quite emotional as well. I dare you not to get a bit misty-eyed when you listen to this song.
Then... we have John Barry's main title theme for The Black Hole, (1979) a film which explores some very dark themes (well, dark for Disney, at any rate) about the universe and the nature of existence wrapped in a basic sci-fi movie plot. The theme itself is mesmerizing as brass and strings, along with percussion, gives us a theme that's compelling, slightly frightening yet still awesome.
Next on our list is Carter Burwell's opening theme for Fargo (1996), a darkly comedic tale of kidnapping, extortion and -- ultimately -- murder most foul written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The song itself is adapted from a Norwegian folk tune entitled "The Lost Sheep", and the use of the harp and chimes, along with the mournful sound of the Hardanger's fiddle and percussion at the crescendo, give us an indication of what's about to come...
I mentioned earlier that many of today's film composers were influenced or inspired by the works of the great classical composers. Here are some examples of how Classical music can influence/inspire some amazing movie music...
Capricorn One, directed by Peter Hyams, is a film which asks the provocative question, what if one of mankind's greatest achievements (landing on the surface of Mars) never happened? The orchestral score itself is action-packed, but it's that main title overture, with hints of Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite", along with touches of Prokofiev and Holst, which really gets your attention.
Bernard Herrmann's opening title theme to North By Northwest (1958) is another example of how Classical music influences can make an orchestral score something extraordinary. The fandango incorporates touches of Stravinsky -- particularly in the opening notes -- with just a touch of Prokofiev thrown in.
And who could forget his hypnotic theme for Vertigo, which also has that "Classical" sound to it?
On the contemporary side, Cliff Eidelman's opening theme for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1996) is influenced and inspired by Holst's "Mars, The Bringer of War" and Stravinsky's "Firebird". Now, you might think that a theme which is this dark wouldn't fit in with the (seemingly) shiny, happy Star Trek universe, but this theme is not only compelling and powerful, it's also quite uplifting, as the film itself goes from a dark theme to an ultimately uplifting conclusion. .
Of course, we can't forget John Williams, who's composed the scores for hundreds of films, including all of Steven Spielberg's films. One of my favorite themes is from the 2002 film, Catch Me If You Can.
While it's not a "Classical" theme, it's a very floaty, 1960's jazz-era flavored piece which captures the mood and theme of the film so effortlessly.
Finally... if you've ever wondered how a particular movie theme can sound so different from movie to movie, I bring you an example of how it can be done, courtesy of another one of my favorite composers, Hans Zimmer.
First, we have the closing theme for 2009's Sherlock Holmes...
Then, the closing credits there for 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows....
Same basic theme, but the pacing of the closing theme for Game of Shadows is slightly faster, and it sounds a bit more "epic" overall.
In many ways, today's movie musicians are the "Classical" composers of the late 20th and 21st centuries. As the story unfolds on the big screen, we're swept up into an epic adventure, a deeply emotional love story, a laugh-out-loud comedy, or a spine-tingling suspense thriller, and it's the music which creates the mood, establishes the theme and sets the tone for what's about to unfold. I also have a YouTube channel where I've collected some of my favorite movie music, along with other goodies. You'll find it here.
Thanks for reading... and happy listening!
In the interest of full disclosure.... My love of movie music started at a relatively early age when my father played his collection of movie and TV soundtrack albums every Saturday morning. His collection was rather wide-ranging, from Jerry Goldsmith's earliest orchestral scores, to soundtracks composed by Henry Mancini, Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Percy Faith and many others.
As I grew older, and really started paying attention to the music which was being played during the film, I realized that it's the opening title theme of a particular film which not only sets the mood, theme and tone of the film, but it's also designed to get your attention in roughly two minutes or so. Many of today's most prolific composers were influenced -- in one way or another -- by the grat Classical musicians, such as Stravinsky. Holst, Beethoven, Pachelbel, Debussey and many others
Here are some examples, thanks to the amazing people who fill YouTube with these incredible fanvids and marvelous music.
First, we have Jerry Goldsmith's haunting opening theme to the 1978 film, Magic, which chronicles the psychological collapse of a stage magician, and the malign influence of his ventriloquist's dummy, Fats. The theme is haunting. melancholy, but it also has a slight bit of tension, particularly when we hear the lushly orchestrated strings and piano, accompanied by a harmonica. There's a very faint hint of jazziness in the string section bridge near the middle of the song, which enhances the sound of the piece. But, the dominant theme is a wistful romanticism tinged with fear, as we hear in the stringed undertones of the song, and it's also quite emotional as well. I dare you not to get a bit misty-eyed when you listen to this song.
Then... we have John Barry's main title theme for The Black Hole, (1979) a film which explores some very dark themes (well, dark for Disney, at any rate) about the universe and the nature of existence wrapped in a basic sci-fi movie plot. The theme itself is mesmerizing as brass and strings, along with percussion, gives us a theme that's compelling, slightly frightening yet still awesome.
Next on our list is Carter Burwell's opening theme for Fargo (1996), a darkly comedic tale of kidnapping, extortion and -- ultimately -- murder most foul written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The song itself is adapted from a Norwegian folk tune entitled "The Lost Sheep", and the use of the harp and chimes, along with the mournful sound of the Hardanger's fiddle and percussion at the crescendo, give us an indication of what's about to come...
I mentioned earlier that many of today's film composers were influenced or inspired by the works of the great classical composers. Here are some examples of how Classical music can influence/inspire some amazing movie music...
Capricorn One, directed by Peter Hyams, is a film which asks the provocative question, what if one of mankind's greatest achievements (landing on the surface of Mars) never happened? The orchestral score itself is action-packed, but it's that main title overture, with hints of Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite", along with touches of Prokofiev and Holst, which really gets your attention.
Bernard Herrmann's opening title theme to North By Northwest (1958) is another example of how Classical music influences can make an orchestral score something extraordinary. The fandango incorporates touches of Stravinsky -- particularly in the opening notes -- with just a touch of Prokofiev thrown in.
And who could forget his hypnotic theme for Vertigo, which also has that "Classical" sound to it?
On the contemporary side, Cliff Eidelman's opening theme for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1996) is influenced and inspired by Holst's "Mars, The Bringer of War" and Stravinsky's "Firebird". Now, you might think that a theme which is this dark wouldn't fit in with the (seemingly) shiny, happy Star Trek universe, but this theme is not only compelling and powerful, it's also quite uplifting, as the film itself goes from a dark theme to an ultimately uplifting conclusion. .
Of course, we can't forget John Williams, who's composed the scores for hundreds of films, including all of Steven Spielberg's films. One of my favorite themes is from the 2002 film, Catch Me If You Can.
While it's not a "Classical" theme, it's a very floaty, 1960's jazz-era flavored piece which captures the mood and theme of the film so effortlessly.
Finally... if you've ever wondered how a particular movie theme can sound so different from movie to movie, I bring you an example of how it can be done, courtesy of another one of my favorite composers, Hans Zimmer.
First, we have the closing theme for 2009's Sherlock Holmes...
Then, the closing credits there for 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows....
Same basic theme, but the pacing of the closing theme for Game of Shadows is slightly faster, and it sounds a bit more "epic" overall.
In many ways, today's movie musicians are the "Classical" composers of the late 20th and 21st centuries. As the story unfolds on the big screen, we're swept up into an epic adventure, a deeply emotional love story, a laugh-out-loud comedy, or a spine-tingling suspense thriller, and it's the music which creates the mood, establishes the theme and sets the tone for what's about to unfold. I also have a YouTube channel where I've collected some of my favorite movie music, along with other goodies. You'll find it here.
Thanks for reading... and happy listening!